This commentary is by Peter Malicky of the Vermont Sierra Club.
As the soft, delicate snow gathers in heaps across Vermont, it isn’t hard to understand why so many people find this landscape breathtaking. The natural purity found along snowy peaks can only be described as serene to anyone driving through our little green state.
Closer to the road, however, one can see how Vermont’s chief form of transportation, the combustion automobile, is leaving its mark. Exhaust from even the most efficient gas-powered vehicles leave black, carbon-rich snow in their wake — a simple but powerful reminder that gas-powered vehicles pollute our roads, damage our air, and tarnish Vermont’s natural environment.
While Vermont is ahead of many states with respect to reducing its carbon footprint, one sector largely resists reductions: transportation. This should come as no real surprise. Despite gains in fuel efficiency, most cars burn fossil fuels to function.
Just last year, the Vermont Agency of Transportation released a study evaluating the top contributors to greenhouse gases in Vermont. This Transportation Energy Profile ranked the transportation sector as No. 1 at 39% of all emissions across the state, just beating fuel used in residential, commercial and industrial settings (31% combined) and completely eclipsing the agricultural sector (15.8%).
If Vermont is serious about reducing carbon emission, it must address transportation.
If you’ve read the news, you can guess what I and many transportation enthusiasts across Vermont propose as a solution. To quote a classic 1980s dance song by Marcia Griffiths, it’s electric! Electric vehicles, buses and bikes help reduce carbon emissions by reducing the vehicle miles traveled in gas-powered cars. While we can improve gas cars by increasing miles traveled per gallon of gas, gas cars still emit more greenhouse gases to function than any electric vehicle — which emit none.
As our society transitions to carbon-neutral electrical production, the potential for electric vehicles to become even more sustainable increases tenfold. The benefits will be felt across Vermont as smells, noise and pollution from combustion engines become less common.
Although EV technology has made incredible advancement over the years, there are hurdles Vermont must overcome to ensure this technology is available and equitable to all Vermonters. To start, many EVs are still too expensive for some Vermonters. On top of this, electric charging infrastructure is sometimes too far apart for new car shoppers to feel safe traveling long distances in an EV.
Thankfully, a solution is already en route to the Vermont Statehouse. The Vermont Legislature is reviewing a bill called the Transportation Innovation Act (H.552), which grants monetary incentives based on income to car shoppers who buy electric. All Vermonters who choose to buy electric can utilize these benefits, as the bill contains provisions to award greater incentives to lower-income households who switch to electric.
This will enable many more Vermonters to invest in a personal electric vehicle, reducing carbon and electrifying our transportation sector much faster than business as usual.
The bill also addresses concerns related to charging infrastructure; by setting a goal to set a level-3 charging port within 5 miles of every interstate highway in Vermont and one every 50 miles along state highways.
More plugs mean electric drivers won’t worry about being stranded without access to a charging station. Local businesses can even use this opportunity to cater to tourists with electric vehicles, who could browse local Vermont products while charging after a long journey.
Now, many Vermonters might be aware that one doesn’t need a car to get around. Why haven’t we explored alternative public transit options, like bikes and buses, to cut carbon in the transportation sector?
The Transportation Innovation Act does, in fact, contain several provisions that enhance non-automotive transportation and public transit options through carbon reductions. To start, even though electric cars seem hip and trendy, the electric bike has also made headway among the more adventurous Vermont travelers. A similar incentive program to the one supporting EV purchases exists for electric bikes within this bill — allowing bikers to travel long distances by bike while minimizing their carbon footprint.
If you take the bus, you can rest assured that the bill has a provision to electrify the state motor vehicle fleet by 2028. If this bill is passed, any new vehicle purchases or leases by the state must be electric whenever possible — a first among states in the nation.
Finally, the state will also be funding a task force to evaluate the role that train transit can play in Vermont’s transit portfolio.
The Transportation Innovation Act is an incredibly forward-thinking bill that seeks to set up Vermont for a future with electric transportation. Acting now would keep pace with market trends in the automotive industry, which has big suppliers like Ford increasing production across their electric vehicle lineup.
Not only do we have a golden opportunity to lead the nation in green transit innovation with the Transportation Innovation Act, but we can help reduce our own carbon footprint and prepare local economies to thrive in a world with electric transportation. It’s shockingly that simple.
